Camlin, the Lisburn-based manufacturer of electricity grid monitoring equipment acquired by Munich-based Siemens Energy earlier this year, is creating 100 jobs as part of a £20 million investment. It is the first stage of a planned expansion that chief executive Peter Cunningham wants to grow into a business on the scale of Almac, the Craigavon pharmaceutical firm with annual sales above £1 billion.

The £20 million is an initial investment from parent company Siemens Energy, creating more than 100 high-value jobs.

Founded in 2008 by Cookstown industrialist John Cunningham and now run by his sons Peter and Michael, Camlin designs, develops and manufactures monitoring technologies for the global power industry. It employed around 650 people when Siemens Energy agreed to acquire it, and it operates across the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.

In 2024, Camlin made a pre-tax profit of £8.4 million on turnover of £88 million, and annual revenue was put at about £90 million when the acquisition was announced.

Camlin primarily makes equipment that monitors the performance of electricity grids, including predictive products.

Camlin chief executive Peter Cunningham said: “Today’s announcement is a powerful statement of confidence in Northern Ireland, our people and our technology.”

Cunningham said at the time of the acquisition that “Siemens is looking to invest and to grow our business dramatically and quickly.”

The announcement is expected to deliver benefits through local supply chain growth and closer collaboration with universities and innovation centres.

Siemens Energy said the acquisition expands its digital grid portfolio at a time of accelerated global investment in electricity networks.

The structural driver is the continued growth of renewable energy, which makes grid management more complicated and is creating a growing market for Camlin’s predictive products.

For the sector, a family-founded Lisburn firm now backed by Siemens Energy is adding jobs and capacity for digital grid technology in Northern Ireland.

Source: bbc.com / newsletter.co.uk / irishnews.com / northernirelandchamber.com